total garbage. half the time there isn't even a microphone. the list is rigged. nothing better than paying 8 bucks to park, to sit through a 2 hour mic and not even get to perform.
The list is a lottery-its not not rigged. Ultra supportive room- too supportive, since they'll laugh at anything, its almost impossible to bomb here. downsides- too many performers, not enough time on stage. Otherwise, cool place.
Before I went, I read the reviews posted above and thought "it couldn't be that bad". Alas it is. Rest assured, this is undoubtedly the WORST open mic in Los Angeles, perhaps anywhere, and perhaps OF ALL TIME.
Understand first a few things: I've come here on a Sunday three times, and though I did get to go up each time (I probably got called because I have a funny sounding name), the stage time was limited to a measely 3 minutes and the crowd, by that late point in the show, was awful. After about an hour, the only audience that's left is other comics who just hope their name is called next, so they're already extremely pissed at whoever they do call to go up next. The other awful thing, all of the above posters are absolutely correct, the list is completely rigged. Jade calls all of her friends. If you doubt it, you can easily tell right away by the way they introduce people as "I used to share a room with this next girl" or "I've known this next guy since the good old days at (comedy room they used to do)". They rarely (if ever) call anyone new the first time they come. I got very, very lucky that I got to at least go up every time. New people almost always have to WAIT through the ENTIRE TWO HOUR MIC, at which point anyone still there who didn't go up gets guaranteed a spot the following week.
From Jade's perspective this setup is fun, because it allows her to have authoritative control over the room and patronize her friends by choosing to put them up at the expense of all the wayward open mic seekers who were just looking for a cool place to do a few minutes. I can see why she would do it this way.
To anyone looking for a new open mic, however, this format, the fake lottery, is terrible. Everyone signs there name on a list, then she goes through it and calls the people she knows. She doesn't know you (or you don't have a name that stands out on the list), you're forced to wait for two hours and then not go up. If she cared about actually running a fair and constructive open mic show, the lottery would really be random and people would know in advance (comedy store), or it would be a first come first serve show.
This room, the way its run now, doesn't belong on bad slava because the mic is not "open". It's closed off to people who are not cool with the host, the same way a booked show would be.
If you want to do a mic, don't go here. Marty's is a GREAT room. This place will only have you going home in frustration without getting to perform.
I forgot to include, and this is important, the above poster was correct: it will cost you $8 to park when you come here. I've searched every street in a two block radius all three times I've come, and there's nothing. You have to pay the $8 to park or risk getting towed, so it's not even a free show.
Since I know the iO West, I can tell everyone that you can find parking, but it's a pain in the ass.
Otherwise, all the complaints are true. This mic sucks. I don't know why anyone goes here. It's incredibly crowded for some reason. Probably the biggest crowd for almost any open mic.
I don't know this woman named Jade, but when I went it was run exactly the same way by some dude.
Yes, it pains me to say this is most definitely a rigged list. I went in and the guy running the list was about to put me up right away, because he thought I was Josh Adam Meyers. I should have just accepted, because I can do a decent JAM impression.
My impressions: Little Esther was a cool host. But I agree with the comment "too supportive because they'll laugh at anything" above. Jesus... I guess now I know what an open mic in Iowa feels like insofar as people laugh even when a guy is just laying track and the train is nowhere in sight. I think that maybe the time when it starts and the day has something to do with it. People are more drunk and/or stoned than usual. UNFORTUNATELY, the drugs eventually wear off. Then they become maybe even MORE annoying than a usual L.A. crowd of comics-- there is a lot of talking loudly and disrespect after the the first 45 minutes or so.
Tribal Cafe is way better than this, but only on sundays. It goes from 9-11. Its a thousand times better. They give gifts away just for showing up! I won a pineapple last week (a whole, raw, pineapple), and they also give away dvds. They do 7 minutes and the whole thing is free, even to park. Probably the most supportive room anywhere, and they even tape the show on Hi-def cameras and send you the stuff for free. Easily the best open mic in LA.
this is far from comedy. this is crap. these people are not comedians. they are talent less fools who want to be, or think they want to be in show biz. lozers! most comedians these days are not comedians, have no knowledge of theatre or comedy, and are ignorant and stupid. the 'F' word seems to be thought of as a funny thing. these are obvious obama voters. Stoopid !
SIGN-UP: Everyone signs up their name as a first come first serve basis. The host then looks at the list of names (between 30-40) and he randomly selects the performers just by looking at their name. THERE IS NO LOTTERY. So it is rigged because he introduced almost the first 10 comics on a personal level.
AUDIENCE: I agree with the comment "too supportive because they'll laugh at anything". This only applies to the first half. There was a guy sleeping in the front row towards the end of the performances.
PERFORMING: You may wait 1.5 hours to find out wether you are performing or not.
I went to this for the first time, and it was horrible.
1. The management wanted to close the bar early, so they decided to cut the Open Mic short. The host (a guy, not Jade or Brandon) was nice enough, and warned us before they started, but it still sucked. They should've decided who was going up and who wasn't before they started. Because you know what sucks? Sitting through an hour and a half of open mic and NOT going up. I would have loved to know I wasn't going up so I could've left.
2. There's heckling. Not "boo get off the stage" heckling. But "hey, I'm going to try to be funny and crack jokes during your set!" heckling. Yeah, dealing with hecklers is part of stand-up, but it's kind of a shitty thing to do constantly during an open mic.
3. One guy went up on stage, who was not even an aspiring comic, and did not have an act. He awkwardly adlibbed and talked about nothing and literally just wasted everyone's time. Because he was friends with one of the comics there and hey, why not go up? Ho, ho! He went second.
4. The vibe was weird. Some people that went up, it seemed like they didn't even want to be there, and were just killing time on a Sunday night. Maybe it comes from iO being an improv Mecca and nobody goes there for stand-up.
5. The lottery might be rigged. Seemed like all the the guys in a few cliques got to go first. It doesn't bother me too much b/c they can run the show however they want, and really, doesn't everybody do that? But if rigging the list bothers you, you should take this into account.
That's my experience. It might not be like that every week. But it was negative enough to make me not want to return.
I walked up there at 10pm with my girlfriend, not to perform, but just to see a show and support my fellow comedians, but it was shut down and there was no one there in the open mic room. I was disappointed, and cold. Is this room even still going on?
Just went to the mic yesterday night. It was pretty good. I dunno why everyone is having trouble finding parking... meters are free after 8pm! (The mic is at 10:30). I'm pretty sure the host just reads the names off the list in any order he chooses, though--so if that sketches you out, then don't go. Otherwise, the tone of the room was just right. The audience was supportive, but also seemed too tired to laugh at anything that wasn't genuinely hilarious (which is a good audience, in my opinion).
Either way, the host is no longer this "Jade" character from years back and I think this mic has really turned around for the better.
Rigged list. Don't exspect to get on unless your one of Jade"s friends.
ReplyDelete.
total garbage. half the time there isn't even a microphone. the list is rigged. nothing better than paying 8 bucks to park, to sit through a 2 hour mic and not even get to perform.
ReplyDeleteAnd they wonder why somebody crashed his car head-on into the place.
ReplyDeleteThe list is a lottery-its not not rigged. Ultra supportive room- too supportive, since they'll laugh at anything, its almost impossible to bomb here. downsides- too many performers, not enough time on stage. Otherwise, cool place.
ReplyDeleteWaste. It is not true lotto. Atleast at comedy store they don't make u wait 2 hrs to find out u got a spot.
ReplyDeleteBefore I went, I read the reviews posted above and thought "it couldn't be that bad". Alas it is. Rest assured, this is undoubtedly the WORST open mic in Los Angeles, perhaps anywhere, and perhaps OF ALL TIME.
ReplyDeleteUnderstand first a few things: I've come here on a Sunday three times, and though I did get to go up each time (I probably got called because I have a funny sounding name), the stage time was limited to a measely 3 minutes and the crowd, by that late point in the show, was awful. After about an hour, the only audience that's left is other comics who just hope their name is called next, so they're already extremely pissed at whoever they do call to go up next. The other awful thing, all of the above posters are absolutely correct, the list is completely rigged. Jade calls all of her friends. If you doubt it, you can easily tell right away by the way they introduce people as "I used to share a room with this next girl" or "I've known this next guy since the good old days at (comedy room they used to do)". They rarely (if ever) call anyone new the first time they come. I got very, very lucky that I got to at least go up every time. New people almost always have to WAIT through the ENTIRE TWO HOUR MIC, at which point anyone still there who didn't go up gets guaranteed a spot the following week.
From Jade's perspective this setup is fun, because it allows her to have authoritative control over the room and patronize her friends by choosing to put them up at the expense of all the wayward open mic seekers who were just looking for a cool place to do a few minutes. I can see why she would do it this way.
To anyone looking for a new open mic, however, this format, the fake lottery, is terrible. Everyone signs there name on a list, then she goes through it and calls the people she knows. She doesn't know you (or you don't have a name that stands out on the list), you're forced to wait for two hours and then not go up. If she cared about actually running a fair and constructive open mic show, the lottery would really be random and people would know in advance (comedy store), or it would be a first come first serve show.
This room, the way its run now, doesn't belong on bad slava because the mic is not "open". It's closed off to people who are not cool with the host, the same way a booked show would be.
If you want to do a mic, don't go here. Marty's is a GREAT room. This place will only have you going home in frustration without getting to perform.
I forgot to include, and this is important, the above poster was correct: it will cost you $8 to park when you come here. I've searched every street in a two block radius all three times I've come, and there's nothing. You have to pay the $8 to park or risk getting towed, so it's not even a free show.
ReplyDeleteSince I know the iO West, I can tell everyone that you can find parking, but it's a pain in the ass.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise, all the complaints are true. This mic sucks. I don't know why anyone goes here. It's incredibly crowded for some reason. Probably the biggest crowd for almost any open mic.
I don't know this woman named Jade, but when I went it was run exactly the same way by some dude.
Yes, it pains me to say this is most definitely a rigged list. I went in and the guy running the list was about to put me up right away, because he thought I was Josh Adam Meyers. I should have just accepted, because I can do a decent JAM impression.
ReplyDeleteif you valet, go to the security guard in front and have him stamp it. then it's only 5.
ReplyDeleteMy impressions:
ReplyDeleteLittle Esther was a cool host.
But I agree with the comment "too supportive because they'll laugh at anything" above. Jesus... I guess now I know what an open mic in Iowa feels like insofar as people laugh even when a guy is just laying track and the train is nowhere in sight. I think that maybe the time when it starts and the day has something to do with it. People are more drunk and/or stoned than usual.
UNFORTUNATELY, the drugs eventually wear off. Then they become maybe even MORE annoying than a usual L.A. crowd of comics-- there is a lot of talking loudly and disrespect after the the first 45 minutes or so.
Tribal Cafe is way better than this, but only on sundays. It goes from 9-11. Its a thousand times better. They give gifts away just for showing up! I won a pineapple last week (a whole, raw, pineapple), and they also give away dvds. They do 7 minutes and the whole thing is free, even to park. Probably the most supportive room anywhere, and they even tape the show on Hi-def cameras and send you the stuff for free. Easily the best open mic in LA.
ReplyDeletethis is far from comedy. this is crap. these people are not comedians. they are talent less fools who want to be, or think they want to be in show biz. lozers! most comedians these days are not comedians, have no knowledge of theatre or comedy, and are ignorant and stupid. the 'F' word seems to be thought of as a funny thing. these are obvious obama voters. Stoopid !
ReplyDeleteSIGN-UP: Everyone signs up their name as a first come first serve basis. The host then looks at the list of names (between 30-40) and he randomly selects the performers just by looking at their name. THERE IS NO LOTTERY. So it is rigged because he introduced almost the first 10 comics on a personal level.
ReplyDeleteAUDIENCE: I agree with the comment "too supportive because they'll laugh at anything". This only applies to the first half. There was a guy sleeping in the front row towards the end of the performances.
PERFORMING: You may wait 1.5 hours to find out wether you are performing or not.
STAGE TIME: 3 mins.
I will avoid this open-mic in future.
Thanks everyone for that information. very good. saturday 6pm is good for westside comedy in santa monica
ReplyDeleteI went to this for the first time, and it was horrible.
ReplyDelete1. The management wanted to close the bar early, so they decided to cut the Open Mic short. The host (a guy, not Jade or Brandon) was nice enough, and warned us before they started, but it still sucked. They should've decided who was going up and who wasn't before they started. Because you know what sucks? Sitting through an hour and a half of open mic and NOT going up. I would have loved to know I wasn't going up so I could've left.
2. There's heckling. Not "boo get off the stage" heckling. But "hey, I'm going to try to be funny and crack jokes during your set!" heckling. Yeah, dealing with hecklers is part of stand-up, but it's kind of a shitty thing to do constantly during an open mic.
3. One guy went up on stage, who was not even an aspiring comic, and did not have an act. He awkwardly adlibbed and talked about nothing and literally just wasted everyone's time. Because he was friends with one of the comics there and hey, why not go up? Ho, ho! He went second.
4. The vibe was weird. Some people that went up, it seemed like they didn't even want to be there, and were just killing time on a Sunday night. Maybe it comes from iO being an improv Mecca and nobody goes there for stand-up.
5. The lottery might be rigged. Seemed like all the the guys in a few cliques got to go first. It doesn't bother me too much b/c they can run the show however they want, and really, doesn't everybody do that? But if rigging the list bothers you, you should take this into account.
That's my experience. It might not be like that every week. But it was negative enough to make me not want to return.
August 8, welcome to comedy...
ReplyDeleteI walked up there at 10pm with my girlfriend, not to perform, but just to see a show and support my fellow comedians, but it was shut down and there was no one there in the open mic room. I was disappointed, and cold. Is this room even still going on?
ReplyDeleteJust went to the mic yesterday night. It was pretty good. I dunno why everyone is having trouble finding parking... meters are free after 8pm! (The mic is at 10:30). I'm pretty sure the host just reads the names off the list in any order he chooses, though--so if that sketches you out, then don't go. Otherwise, the tone of the room was just right. The audience was supportive, but also seemed too tired to laugh at anything that wasn't genuinely hilarious (which is a good audience, in my opinion).
ReplyDeleteEither way, the host is no longer this "Jade" character from years back and I think this mic has really turned around for the better.
The open mic at IO West no longer exists until further notice.
ReplyDelete